


Beautiful Delusion

by wesleyfanfiction_archivist



Category: Angel: the Series
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2006-05-12
Updated: 2006-05-11
Packaged: 2018-05-31 10:33:09
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 8
Words: 5,425
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6466846
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wesleyfanfiction_archivist/pseuds/wesleyfanfiction_archivist
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Post-NFA deathfic; Illyria comes to the alley bearing the news that Wesley is dying, and Angel makes a decision that will change everything.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Beautiful Delusion

**Author's Note:**

> Note from Versaphile, the archivist: this story was originally archived at [WesleyFanfiction.net](http://fanlore.org/wiki/WesleyFanFiction.Net). Deciding that it needed to have a more long-term home, I began importing its works to the AO3 as an Open Doors-approved project in February 2016. I e-mailed all creators about the move and posted announcements, but may not have reached everyone. If you are (or know) this creator, please contact the e-mail address on [WesleyFanfiction.net collection profile](http://archiveofourown.org/collections/wesleyfanfiction/profile).

"The mortal Wesley is dying," Illyria said softly as she came upon the others in the alley. Angel swore they'd taken away her ability to slow time, but for him it screeched to a near halt. "I could not bear to watch his soul leave his body," she added. "He asked for you."

Wesley. Dying. Asking for him.

There was only one thing Angel could do, apocalypse be damned. He looked at Spike.

"Go on, mate," Spike said gently. "I understand."

"Hold as long as you can," Angel told the others. "I'll be right back."

When Angel found Wesley's battered body, his heartbeat had grown dim and the smell of his blood, metallic and tangy and so enticing, filled the air. "Wes," Angel breathed, cradling his friend.

"Angel," Wes croaked. "You... are a beautiful... delusion."

"No, it's not a delusion, Wes, I'm here. I came for you. I'm gonna make you okay."

"You can't... make me okay... Angel." Wes was struggling for the words, for the breath and energy to speak..

"I will," Angel said determinedly. He closed his eyes, letting the tears that had pooled there spill down his cheeks. "Wes, I love you. I won't lose you."

"Sweet words... to die to," Wesley whispered, smiling weakly. His body went limp as he lost consciousness, presumably for the last time.

"Fuck," Angel said. He didn't want to do it, but instinct took over, and he leaned over, sinking his fangs into Wesley's neck. Gods, he tasted amazing, Angel thought, pulling back. He sliced his forearm open with the very knife that had killed Wesley, and pressed the wound to his lips. "Drink, damn it," he urged.

Wesley's body lurched and his arms clutched at Angel's, pressing it harder against his lips for a brief moment, and then he went still as death again.

"I'm sorry," Angel whispered. "I'm so sorry."


	2. Monster

"Looks like it's just you and me," Connor said to his father, as he set the vampire's leg for him.

"Looks like," Angel agreed dimly. It had been a long, tough battle. So many were dead. Spike, Gunn, both were gone. Illyria had survived, barely, but taken her leave before the dust had even settled.

"What am I?"

Connor and Angel both looked up. Connor's eyes filled with surprise, and Angel's with shame. "Wes." Angel said softly.

"What am I?" Wesley insisted. "I died," he told Connor matter-of-factly. "And yet, here I am, walking, talking... Angel, I'm so hungry."

Angel sighed. "Connor, go to the fridge and get your uncle Wes a snack pack. I've got a lot of explaining to do."

"Angel," Connor said warily. "Dad..."

"Just go," Angel said quietly. "Wes, have a seat."

"You told me you loved me," Wes said. "But... if you loved me, why couldn't you let me go?"

"Wesley -"

"I'm a monster."

Angel frowned. "Yeah. Sorry 'bout that."

"I want..." Wesley began, searching for the words. "I want to hurt you."

"Can it wait 'til my leg heals?" Angel asked, shifting uncomfortably.

"I want to hurt you," Wesley continued, "but I can't. What's wrong with me?"

"I - it's my soul," Angel said weakly. "You're... you're tainted. I wasn't thinking."

"Why couldn't you let me die?" Wesley demanded.

"Because I didn't want to live without you, okay?" Angel wanted to kick something, but with his leg in its current state he figured that was a bad idea. "What do you want, Wes? Do you want to be dead again? Do you want a soul? I can make that happen for you, if that's what you want." He was vaguely aware of how desperate he sounded. "Anything you want, Wes. Anything."

"Angel..."

"Wes?"

"I want..."

"Yeah?"

"I want you."

"Dude, that's gross, guys," Connor commented, tossing Angel a bag of O+. "Get a room, will you?"


	3. Not Right

"Giles?"

"This is he. Who's calling, please?"

"Giles, it's Angel."

"Ah." There was a sound on the other end of the line that sounded like he'd hung up. "I thought I'd made it clear we wanted nothing to do with your law firm," Giles said finally.

"It isn't about that. That's... that's over. This is something more... personal in nature."

"I'm not telling you where Buffy is."

"I know where Buffy is," Angel said. "That's not what I need your help with. Giles, I screwed up."

"Perish the thought."

"It's Wes."

Giles was silent for a moment. "Is he... did he make it?"

"Yes... and no. I just couldn't lose him! See, Giles, that's where I screwed up," Angel admitted sheepishly. "He's not right."

"Angel, are you telling me you turned him?" Giles took Angel's silence as a yes. "What's the body count?"

"What?"

"How bad is it? How many people has he slaughtered?"

"None. Giles... he's not right. Normally I'd have him hitting the books to figure out what was wrong, but... he's just so... he'll barely eat. I'm worried about him."

Giles sighed. "Angel, I don't know what to tell you. I'm not flying out there to give your new pet a physical."

"I think it's my soul. I think he's tainted somehow. Giles, I need you and Willow to fix him."

"There's only one way to 'fix' him," Giles said coldly. "And you know what that is. A stake through the heart will do nicely."

~*~

"Come on, Giles, don't ya think it's kinda romantic?" Willow gave him a goofy grin.

"Oh, yes, Willow. Certainly, turning a dying man out of complete selfishness is the epitomy of romance." Giles sighed. "Andrew, tell her."

"I don't know, Mr. Giles, I kinda have to agree with Willow," Andrew said, shrugging. "They weren't lovey-dovey or anything, when I was there, but there were vibes."

"Aww, they were vibey?" Willow's goofy grin started to get goofier. "Giles, come on. Angel's done a lot to help us."

Giles took one look into Willow's puppy-dog eyes and knew he'd been outvoted. "Very well," he conceded. "But I'm not going with you. Andrew and Kennedy will accompany you."

"Yay!" Andrew squealed. "Er, I mean, very well." The last two words were said with a deeper, more English sounding voice, and Giles was forced to roll his eyes.

"Andrew, do bugger off."

~*~

"Nothing?"

Connor shook his head. "Sorry, Dad. He'll only eat for you, and okay, how gross is it that you're asking your son to feed your boyfriend blood, really?"

"It's in a bag, Connor."

"Not the point. I might need therapy." Connor felt bad for Angel. "Are your friends gonna help?"

Angel looked at him glumly. "What friends?"

"I was kinda thinking Willow and the two people who just popped into the room with her."

Angel turned, surprised. "That was fast," he said, rushing to hug Willow. "Giles said -"

"Giles is a fuddy duddy," Willow smiled. "Me, I'm a sap. We can chat later. For now, lead me to your boy toy."

"He's not my -"

"Shut up, Dad, he so is," Connor smirked.

"We'll just make ourselves comfortable," Kennedy said, kissing Willow on the cheek. "You go do your goddessy magic thing."

Andrew brightened. "Oh! I brought Yahtzee!"


	4. Kindred

"Everybody's dead?"

"Yes, Andrew, everybody's dead."

"What, everybody?"

Connor sighed. "Everybody. Except me and Angel. And, well, Wesley, sort of."

"What, Spike?"

Kennedy smacked Andrew in the back of the head. "So help me, I'm taking away your Red Dwarf DVDs when we get back, and I'm going to put them through the shredder."

Andrew whimpered. "You're mean. I lost a very dear friend, you know."

"Spike couldn't stand you," Kennedy smirked.

"You wouldn't understand our relationship," Andrew insisted. "We were like Angel and Wes! We were kindred spirits!"

"Kindred -? Why, 'cause you were both dorky little twits who died virgins?"

"I didn't -"

"Say the word, little man, I can make it happen."

~*~

Wesley was sitting on Angel's bed, his back against the headboard, wearing the clothes he died in.

"Wes," Angel said gently. "You remember Willow."

Willow smiled and waved. "Hey Wes. I hear you're feelin' kinda out of sorts."

Wesley looked up and replied wryly, "I'm dead, Willow. That's bound to leave one feeling out of sorts, wouldn't you say?"

~*~

"No more goddamned Yahtzee!" Kennedy exclaimed, standing up from the sofa. "I'm gonna go check on Willow."

Connor put out a hand to stop her. "I don't think that's such a good idea. Dad said it might not be pretty."

"Yeah, all right," she sighed, sitting back down.

"I'm bored," Andrew whined.

"We know," Kennedy and Connor chorused.

"Is there anything on TV?"

Connor gaped at him. "Half of L.A. is just... missing, and you think there's cable service? There's a charred dragon corpse rotting in the middle of the freeway."

"Yeah, good job on that, by the way," Kennedy said. "You and your dad seem to make a pretty good team."

"When we're not trying to kill each other, yeah."

"My dad never helped me kill anything," Andrew butted in. "But my brother inspired me to summon demons."

Kennedy looked at Connor. "Does your dad keep duct tape handy?"

"Dad?" Connor said, standing up.

Kennedy and Andrew turned to see Angel looking pleased. "He's gonna be okay," he announced, as though everyone's world hung on it the way his did.

"He's fractured," Willow said. "Babe, I need you to take Andrew out and find a few ingredients for me."

"No problem, Will." Kennedy smiled.

"Is there anything I can do?"

"Sure, Connor, you know L.A. a little better than they do - you might be able to help them find things." Willow said. "I'm going to get started on some incantations, Angel, if you could sit with him, maybe get him to eat some more? The stronger he is, the smoother this will go." She looked at Angel for a minute. "Why don't you go on in there while I give them their instructions."

Angel nodded, not really knowing what else to do besides what Willow said to do.

"Connor," Willow said, once she was sure Angel was out of the admittedly considerable earshot. "After you get back, I'm going to need you and Kennedy to hold your dad back once I start, okay? It's gonna be pretty painful for Wes, and Angel's gonna want to stop me from hurting him. If he does... just, there could be badness."


	5. Fractured

"What did she mean?" Wes asked, startling Angel. "Fractured - what does that mean?"

Angel shrugged. "Think it's got something to do with my soul. Like, you've got parts of it, or something."

Wesley nodded, digesting this. "Willow knows what to do? A-and she's prepared to do it?"

Angel knew where Wes's mind had gone first. "She's not gonna kill you, Wes, I won't let her." He reached out and patted Wes's hand.

"Angel - I could be very dangerous."

"You're not."

"Only because I'm incapacitated by your damned soul," Wes snapped. "I'm a fucking vampire, Angel, I'm not your lapdog any longer."

Angel withdrew his hand as though scorched. "Wes -"

"No, you don't get to feel sorry for yourself, Angel. I'm a monster, remember, and you're the one who created me. The fact that I want to bugger your brains out has no bearing on that," Wes snarled.

Angel's eyes went wide. This wasn't his Wes - but of course, it couldn't be. This was the demon. "Wes, just shut up and eat something," he said finally.

Wesley glared at him, allowed his face to shift, and tore into the bag from the blood bank.

"There's a straw," Angel offered belatedly.

~*~

Andrew inspected the list of ingredients again. "Most of these are standard for the re-ensouling spell. See, Orb of Thesulah. But I'm not so sure about the rest."

Willow frowned. "Well, before I can give Wes a soul, I have to take out the pieces of Angel's," she said hesitantly.

"That's the part that's gonna hurt," Connor said. "Right?"

"Right."

"But wait," Kennedy said. "What's to stop them both getting real happy and, y'know, going on a rampage?"

Willow looked sheepish. "I've got my fingers crossed?"

Andrew gasped, "Willow!"

"I'm working on it," she admitted. "This is the best I can do for now until I figure out how to alter the original curse effectively."

~*~

"Finally we're getting somewhere," Wesley leered as Angel chained him spread-eagle on the bed.

"This is for your own good," Angel sighed.

"I should hope so. I always knew you were a kinky bastard."

Angel rolled his eyes. "This isn't about sex, Wes."

"The hell it isn't," Wes replied. "Everything is about sex, Angel. Even the blood is about sex. And sex is about the blood. I understand, now. Why don't you let me chain you up instead, hm? I would fuck you 'till your eyes bleed, Angel, and lick away your tears."

Angel paused, and Wes's lips curled up into a wicked smile as he realized Angel was seriously thinking about it.

"Twice you've fed from me, Angel, and now I want to sink my teeth into you. I want to cut you and sooth your wounds with my tongue. I want to -"

"We're back," Connor said, a look of pure disgust on his face. "Remember that therapy I was talking about? For life. Seriously."


	6. Fragments

"I don't want a fucking soul, Miss Rosenburg. What I want, quite frankly, is to turn you into an appetizer and your little girlfriend into dessert."

Willow rolled her eyes, mixing some ingredients in a stone bowl. "Yeah? And what's for supper?"

"Watcher. They say it's the other red meat," Wes said, eyeing Andrew appraisingly. "By the smell of him, a virgin, too. Maybe Angel and I can play with him a while before I finish him off."

Andrew whimpered. "Angel wouldn't do that!" he said doubtfully. "He's a champion, like Spike!"

"He's one good fuck away from being as deliciously murderous as he ever was," Wesley smirked. "I could break these chains quite easily, Miss Rosenburg."

"Mm," she agreed. "Yeah, if we hadn't given you enough tranqs to fell an overweight elephant."

Wesley's eyes went to Angel and Connor, with an accusing glare. "Traitors," he grumbled. Now that she mentioned it, his limbs did feel rather leaden, and his eyelids began to droop.

~*~

"Guys, you can let me go," Angel insisted. "I just want to see how they're doing in there, that's all." He winced when he heard Wesley's agonized scream.

"Not a chance, Dad," Connor said, shaking his head. "If you go in there, it'll be a lot worse for him."

"Oh." Angel looked anxious. "How can it be worse? What the hell are Willow and Andrew doing to him in there?"

"They're taking out the fragments of your soul that are stuck in him," Kennedy said patiently from her perch on Angel's stomach. He was chained down, but one couldn't be too careful. "Some of them are buried deep. If they don't, though, they can't give him a soul of his own."

Angel was doubtful. It sounded like a whole lot of speculation and mumbo jumbo to him. If part of his soul was in Wes, shouldn't that be a good thing? "Couldn't we share?" he asked. Anything to end Wesley's obvious pain - pain he could almost feel himself.

Kennedy gave Angel a Look; why was it that women all shared that ability? Suddenly she said, "It's too quiet."

"Maybe the hard part is over," Connor suggested.

"Maybe it's just starting," Angel said, concern marring his features.

~*~

Willow awoke to see Kennedy standing over her, a look of relief on her face. "Baby, I wasn't sure you were gonna wake up," the slayer admitted. "He clocked you a good one."

"Andrew?" Willow asked weakly.

Connor laughed. "He needed a change of pants but he'll be okay."

"You said you wouldn't tell!" Andrew protested.

"We've got other things to worry about," Kennedy pointed out. "Like how he managed to break free with all those drugs in his system."

"That's the understatement of the century," Angel said, uncrossing his arms to put on his black duster. "Wesley has the potential to be more of a sick fuck than Angelus ever was; I've got to get to him, and fast."

~*~

Wesley surveyed the dank motel room; it was filthy, and it reeked of the bitch laying dead on the bathroom floor, but it was paid up for the week. It would do. He knew Angel would come for him, knew that Willow would awaken and attempt the ensouling spell, knew he was one hell of an actor when he wanted to be. When Angel came, he would play innocent, even horrified at his own actions, lure him to bed, and break his curse once and for all. Together, they would own L.A. - maybe the world.

His teeth and stomach ached with regret at having left that young Watcher alive and untouched. His fear had felt so delicious and intoxicating, radiating off his body in waves. That would come later, he supposed. All he had to do was bide his time.


	7. Hunger

"It's worse than we thought," Willow frowned, looking up from the computer screen. "It's been less than 24 hours and he's left a trail of bodies from here to Santa Clarita."

Angel ran his tongue over his teeth, thinking. "How long since the last one?"

"Desk clerk at a motel, about six hours ago."

"He's holed up," Angel said. "He's waiting for me."

"So it's a trap," Andrew said. "You're not going after him, are you?"

"I'm coming with you," Kennedy insisted.

"Yeah, 'cause a Slayer is just what a skittish vampire's gonna want to see coming at him," Connor replied sarcastically. "Dad, I'll come with you."

"I'm going by myself," Angel said, shaking his head. "The rest of you, get to work on the ensouling spell; I'm gonna find him before he does any more damage."

~*~

The motel was swarming with police, which was impressive since he was sure at least half of L.A.'s police force had been wiped out during the almost-apocalypse; Wesley wasn't worried, really. He'd put the woman into the tub and drawn the curtain, and when the police had come to the door with their notebooks and questions he'd told them she was indisposed and they'd been in all evening. The gullible fools had accepted it without further question and given him their card and instructions to call if he saw or heard anything strange. The urge to make them into a meal - a two for one special - was nearly overwhelming, but he managed, barely. The more he fed, the more his hunger grew, and he was growing anxious for Angel's arrival.

"Wes?" About bloody time.

"Angel?" Time to turn it on. "God, Angel, what... what have I done?"

Something was off about Wes; there was no soul there, but he sounded truly regretful. "It's okay, Wes, we'll make it okay."

"I'm so hungry, Angel," Wes said in a small voice. "I feel... like I'll never stop being empty."

You don't play a player, and Angel knew for sure now that Wes was fucking with him. "Wes, you've been quite the busy boy. Eleven," Angel took in a deep whiff, smelling the woman in the bathroom. "No, I'm gonna say twelve people in less than 24 hours. That's a pretty powerful hunger you've got there."

"You would know," Wes pointed out with a snarl. "You made me."

Wes hadn't moved from his seat on the edge of the bed since Angel had let himself into the motel room, and Angel slowly approached. Before he knew what was happening, he was on his back. "Wes -"

"Shut up," Wes said, crushing Angel's mouth under his with a kiss hard enough to draw blood. "Just shut the fuck up."

It was all wrong; it was so wrong, and yet hadn't this been what Angel had wanted, deep down, since the moment a leather-clad demon hunter walked into his life and turned it upside down? Angel obeyed, more from shock than a desire to placate his Childe.

"I know what you want, lover," Wes drawled. "And I'm going to give it to you. I'm going to fuck you until you can't even walk."

"No, Wes, this isn't right -"

Wes smirked. "Oh, the great Angelus is going to tell me about right?" His hands were everywhere, and it didn't seem possible for him to be pinning Angel's wrists and dragging Angel's pants down over his hips at the same time. "That's a fucking laugh." Suddenly Angel was on his stomach, his face - and dear god, his erection, he was getting off on this, what was wrong with him? - pressed into the bargain-basement motel carpet.

"Wes, come on, let's talk about this. You don't want to -"

"Don't fucking tell me what I want," Wes said, and Angel could feel Wesley's cock against his back, as hard as his own and still warm from his latest kill. "You've owned me for years, and now I'm going to own you."

Angel felt a knife being drawn down his back; he hadn't even realized Wes was armed at all until he felt the slim blade slicing his shirt in half and opening a shallow wound in his flesh. Wes drew his fingers through the welling blood and covered his cock with it; with no further preamble or preparation, he was pressing into Angel, the stab of pain and intrusion causing Angel to cry out and - what the hell was wrong with him - his cock to twitch.

"Feels so fucking good, Angel, like I always knew it would," Wes said, and Angel had to remind himself that this wasn't Wes, this was the demon, but did he even care? Wes was moving inside him, and fuck, blood made a terrible lubricant, it burned and stung and felt so damn good.

Wesley's hand snaked around and grasped Angel's cock, pumping him in rhythm to his thrusts. Angel let out a choked sob as he came, tepid ejaculate spilling over the hand that gripped him and the motel room carpet. Wes allowed his face to shift and his fangs sliced into Angel's shoulder; Angel's body shuddered at the sensory overload, and he felt Wesley's entire body go tense, felt him coming hard inside him, felt him collapse onto his back, sobbing.

"Wes?" Angel ventured after a moment. Willow's spell had come through, by the sound and smell of it. "Wes, it's okay."

Wes withdrew from him, sitting back on his heels. His eyes were wide with horror, and Angel could sympathize. "Angel, I - god, I..."

"It's okay, Wes," Angel said, gathering him into his arms. "It's gonna be okay."

~*~

"Could my family possibly be any more screwed up?" Connor said conversationally. "My role models are two ensouled vampires who haven't left the bedroom in three days, and I just don't even want to think about what's going on in there."

Willow gave the young man a sympathetic look. "If it makes you feel better, I think they're mostly just talking. Wes did some serious damage, and he's probably wracked with guilt."

"I'm not a virgin," Andrew said, out of the blue.

"Yes, you are," Angel said, alerting the others to his presence. "I can smell it on you. Wes is sleeping," he told Willow. "I can't thank you enough, really."

"Oh, don't thank me," she grinned, despite the fact that her left eye was still swollen shut from Wesley's fist. "Have lots of good sex, but, y'know, not too good, since I haven't figured out that part yet. You guys ready?"

Andrew was sulking, but Kennedy nodded. "Let's do this thing. Giles is gonna want a full report."

"In triplicate," Andrew said, brightening, and the three Scoobies were gone.

"So," Angel said, sitting down on the couch next to his son. "Think the cable's back up yet?"


	8. Balance of Power

"It's worse than we thought," Willow frowned, looking up from the computer screen. "It's been less than 24 hours and he's left a trail of bodies from here to Santa Clarita."

Angel ran his tongue over his teeth, thinking. "How long since the last one?"

"Desk clerk at a motel, about six hours ago."

"He's holed up," Angel said. "He's waiting for me."

"So it's a trap," Andrew said. "You're not going after him, are you?"

"I'm coming with you," Kennedy insisted.

"Yeah, 'cause a Slayer is just what a skittish vampire's gonna want to see coming at him," Connor replied sarcastically. "Dad, I'll come with you."

"I'm going by myself," Angel said, shaking his head. "The rest of you, get to work on the ensouling spell; I'm gonna find him before he does any more damage."

~*~

The motel was swarming with police, which was impressive since he was sure at least half of L.A.'s police force had been wiped out during the almost-apocalypse; Wesley wasn't worried, really. He'd put the woman into the tub and drawn the curtain, and when the police had come to the door with their notebooks and questions he'd told them she was indisposed and they'd been in all evening. The gullible fools had accepted it without further question and given him their card and instructions to call if he saw or heard anything strange. The urge to make them into a meal - a two for one special - was nearly overwhelming, but he managed, barely. The more he fed, the more his hunger grew, and he was growing anxious for Angel's arrival.

"Wes?" About bloody time.

"Angel?" Time to turn it on. "God, Angel, what... what have I done?"

Something was off about Wes; there was no soul there, but he sounded truly regretful. "It's okay, Wes, we'll make it okay."

"I'm so hungry, Angel," Wes said in a small voice. "I feel... like I'll never stop being empty."

You don't play a player, and Angel knew for sure now that Wes was fucking with him. "Wes, you've been quite the busy boy. Eleven," Angel took in a deep whiff, smelling the woman in the bathroom. "No, I'm gonna say twelve people in less than 24 hours. That's a pretty powerful hunger you've got there."

"You would know," Wes pointed out with a snarl. "You made me."

Wes hadn't moved from his seat on the edge of the bed since Angel had let himself into the motel room, and Angel slowly approached. Before he knew what was happening, he was on his back. "Wes -"

"Shut up," Wes said, crushing Angel's mouth under his with a kiss hard enough to draw blood. "Just shut the fuck up."

It was all wrong; it was so wrong, and yet hadn't this been what Angel had wanted, deep down, since the moment a leather-clad demon hunter walked into his life and turned it upside down? Angel obeyed, more from shock than a desire to placate his Childe.

"I know what you want, lover," Wes drawled. "And I'm going to give it to you. I'm going to fuck you until you can't even walk."

"No, Wes, this isn't right -"

Wes smirked. "Oh, the great Angelus is going to tell me about right?" His hands were everywhere, and it didn't seem possible for him to be pinning Angel's wrists and dragging Angel's pants down over his hips at the same time. "That's a fucking laugh." Suddenly Angel was on his stomach, his face - and dear god, his erection, he was getting off on this, what was wrong with him? - pressed into the bargain-basement motel carpet.

"Wes, come on, let's talk about this. You don't want to -"

"Don't fucking tell me what I want," Wes said, and Angel could feel Wesley's cock against his back, as hard as his own and still warm from his latest kill. "You've owned me for years, and now I'm going to own you."

Angel felt a knife being drawn down his back; he hadn't even realized Wes was armed at all until he felt the slim blade slicing his shirt in half and opening a shallow wound in his flesh. Wes drew his fingers through the welling blood and covered his cock with it; with no further preamble or preparation, he was pressing into Angel, the stab of pain and intrusion causing Angel to cry out and - what the hell was wrong with him - his cock to twitch.

"Feels so fucking good, Angel, like I always knew it would," Wes said, and Angel had to remind himself that this wasn't Wes, this was the demon, but did he even care? Wes was moving inside him, and fuck, blood made a terrible lubricant, it burned and stung and felt so damn good.

Wesley's hand snaked around and grasped Angel's cock, pumping him in rhythm to his thrusts. Angel let out a choked sob as he came, tepid ejaculate spilling over the hand that gripped him and the motel room carpet. Wes allowed his face to shift and his fangs sliced into Angel's shoulder; Angel's body shuddered at the sensory overload, and he felt Wesley's entire body go tense, felt him coming hard inside him.

Wesley's laugh was the darkest, most delicious thing Angelus had heard in a long, long time. "Welcome back," he said finally, when his laughter subsided. "How does it feel to be free?" He released the other vampire's wrists and withdrew from inside him.

Angelus snarled, flipping Wesley onto his back. "Nobody tops me, Wesley. Nobody. Not Spike and sure as hell not you."

Wesley raised an eyebrow. "I think you'll find a lot of things have changed since the last time you got to come out and play, Angelus, and the deck is no longer stacked in your favour."

"You," Angelus growled, "are mine. Not the other way around."

"Is that so?" Wes smirked. "Funny, I must have missed that lesson while I was buggering you into the floor."

"Cheek isn't going to win you any points."

"What are you going to do, Angelus, spank me? See how I quiver with fear?"

"No," Angelus said in a voice as calm and cold as death. "I'm going to teach you."

"Oh, are you?"

"Lesson one; I own you." With that, Angelus leaned down and dragged his lips lightly across Wesley's blood-streaked cock, which began to harden again almost immediately. "I don't suck your cock; you suck mine, and you do a good damn job or I beat the shit out of you." He buried his fangs in Wesley's inner right thigh and felt his own cock begin to swell.

Wesley grabbed Angelus by the hair, tearing his face away from his thigh. "Correction; you suck my cock and then maybe I'll suck yours. I know the great Angelus has, shall we say, dominance issues? Let's pretend we're on level ground here; you like the illusion that I can't kick your arse, and I'll let you hang onto that as long as you don't try to pull any power trips." Angelus started to speak, but found himself on his back again. "Nobody's really dominated you since Darla," Wesley purred. "You crave it, even more than you crave blood, and I can give it to you."

Angelus began to laugh. "You're fucked up, Wes."

"Yes, that's true," the younger vampire agreed. "You knew I would be when you made me. You knew I'd be every bit as sadistic and bloodthirsty as you are. There's one thing you didn't count on, though, isn't there? You forget that I was a lot stronger in life than 'Liam' ever was. 'Angel' spent years conditioning me to fight nearly as well as he, without the aid of vampiric strength. If you fuck me, if you take me, it's because I let you, Angelus, let there be no mistake."

~*~

They lay naked atop a small pile of corpses, the last still nearly as warm as life. Angelus stroked his lover's face tenderly. "Callistus," he said softly. All his carnal urges were sated for the moment, and he took the time to admire that which he had created. "Most beautiful. The Order of Aurelius is reborn in us, Callistus, and we will make our names feared."

The younger vampire's lips twitched. "You're getting sentimental in your old age, Angelus," he said fondly. "Callistus; it has a certain ring."

"You were right," Angelus said, sitting up. "The virgin watcher tasted much sweeter than the girls; it's a shame we had to kill the boy, though."

"I could taste his power," Callistus purred, one hand stroking his own stomach idly. "I can feel it in me, still. Where are we headed?"

"Italy, I think. I always did love the night life in Venice, and there's a girl in Rome I'd like to re-introduce you to."


End file.
